Sheffield Wednesday have been linked with a summer love move for Brest winger Karamoko Dembele.
Sheffield Wednesday look set to bolster their attacking ranks this summer, with several names now linked ahead of the transfer window opening on June 14th.
Former Celtic teenager Dembele is the latest; reports claim that Sheffield Wednesday have ‘made contact’ contacted Brest over a possible loan move for the 21-year-old.
It comes after Dembele’s impressive loan spell with Blackpool in League One last time round where the London-born winger scored eight and assisted 13 in 39 league appearances.
Here we break down Karamoko’s career so far and analyse a potential summer move to Hillsborough…
Karamoko Dembele career so far
Dembele’s family moved to Scotland soon after his birth and in 2013, Dembele would join up with the Celtic youth academy.
He signed a professional contract with the club in 2018 at age 15, making his first-team debut in 2019.
Later that year, Dembele would become the youngest-ever player to play for a Scottish team in a European competition, playing for Celtic against CFJ Cluj in the Europa League, age 16.
After that, however, Dembele would make just eight more first-team appearances for Celtic before joining Brest on a free transfer in 2022.
Injuries and a lack of form hindered Dembele’s progress at Celtic and in his first season with Brest, he failed to record a single goal contribution in 17 total appearances.
But he’d burst into life with Blackpool in League One, scooping three end-of-season awards at the club after recording 23 goal contributions in all competitions.
What they say about Karamoko Dembele
Neil Lennon when managing Celtic: “He is the type of player that you want at Celtic.
“He gets the crowd off their feet with his football intelligence. Obviously we need to keep a lid on it, but it’s great that the fans have seen the glimpse of the future.
“The kid is 16 and we just want to develop him in the right way. He has been training with the first team and I had no hesitation giving him 45 minutes.”
Blackpool manager Neil Critchley: “He’s a brilliant footballer, I love watching him play. He’s exciting, he’s something different in this league.
“He’s really courageous, he takes the ball into any area of the pitch and backs himself- he’s got real bravery. He’s a lovely boy and is great to work with.”
Karamoko Dembele player profile
- Full name: Karamoko Dembele
- Age: 21
- Height: 1.67m (5ft 5in)
- Nationality: English
- Date of birth: 22nd February 2003
- Place of birth: Lambeth, London
- Position: Winger
- Club: Brest (France)
Karamoko Dembele highlights
Karamoko Dembele to Sheffield Wednesday analysis
Watching his highlights of his whirlwind season at Blackpool, it’s easy to see why Sheffield Wednesday, and also the likes of Everton, Fulham, Nottingham Forest, and West Ham are keen to sign the teenager.
Not only is he fast and a very talented dribbler, but he also showed with Blackpool that he can produce that end product; finishing from close range and slipping teammates in with clever through balls in the final third.
The next step for Dembele remains unclear, though. He’ll want to step up in terms of quality next time round and it may be that playing with Brest in Ligue 1 is the next logical step.
But Brest finished 3rd in the French top tier this season, qualifying for Champions League football, so whether or not there’d be game time available remains to be seen.
And the same thinking could be applied if Dembele moves to a Premier League club, so for Sheffield Wednesday, a loan move for Dembele could work out for all involved.
He looks very similar to Poveda in the way that he plays. But Dembele, who was once dubbed ‘the next Lionel Messi’, appears to be able to offer a lot more security in terms of fitness.
There’s other Championship clubs keen, including Portsmouth. But if Wednesday can get some other transfer deals done early and state their conviction for next season, then S6 could be a very attractive destination for Dembele later in the summer.
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